Sentinel-2A: One year since launch

23 June 2016

Sentinel-2A, a multi-spectral high-resolution Earth observation mission, was launched on 23rd June 2015 as the second installation of the European Space Agencies' (ESA) Copernicus programme. Aiming to provide data for use in land observation and emergency response, Sentinel-2A has contributed to a range of applications including land change detection and disaster mapping, as well as plant health and water body monitoring.

Detection of changes in the land surface can be enhanced by using 22m resolution imagery from UK-DMC2 in conjunction with Sentinel-2A imagery. In the spatial analysis presented here, a time series has been produced using both Sentinel-2A and UK-DMC2 images over an area in South Africa. The Sentinel-2A image shows the area of interest within this study. The images depict circular patches of vegetation, created by a method of crop management known as centre-pivot irrigation. Used as a simple and automatic agricultural practice, centre-pivot irrigation works using a sprinkler system attached to a pivot. The pivot is then able to rotate and water certain areas of crop.